


Frozen Lungs

by Kleptinx



Series: Xosa Rising [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work, Xosa Rising (D&D Podcast)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Gen, Kid Fic, Kinda, Not Really Character Death, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, This does contain spoilers for Tez and Nel's backstory!, but they come very close, it's set roughly 16 years before our current campaign, when Tez and Nel are around 5 or 6 years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24451138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kleptinx/pseuds/Kleptinx
Summary: Set roughly 16 years before Xosa Rising's current campaign.Nel drops to his knees beside Tez and shakes his shoulder. Tez thinks his twin is saying something but there is cotton in his head and howling wind screaming in his ear. Something wet drips down onto his cheek, and he has the vague realization that Nel is crying. His brother, for how little he does it, has always been an ugly crier. His cheeks are ruddy and the tears leave dark, frozen tracks down his face and his hiccups are stuttering. Nel buries his head into Tez’s neck and sobs.
Relationships: Tez Stonemour (Xosa Rising) & Nel Stonemour (Xosa Rising)
Series: Xosa Rising [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766011





	Frozen Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I made an account separate from my main one to post D&D stories here. Most of these stories will be based on Xosa Rising, a DnD podcast that I play in. There will be a few set in A Simple Task, a different campaign I'm in but with the same group, and one or two might even be set in campaigns that I'm in with my IRL friend group. We don't stream those.
> 
> If you're interested, you can catch all our D&D streams over at https://www.twitch.tv/manokewl/! We stream Xosa Rising every Saturday at 7:30pm CST, and on Tuesdays we stream A Simple Task at the same time! 
> 
> If you'd like to get caught up, we also post all our vods (edited!) to our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-i08VTPstXqzMP0Hbcgug/featured
> 
> And if you'd like to follow me on twitter for D&D art and the occasional fan art, you can find all my social media links here: https://linktr.ee/Raziel ! Thank you so much for reading. <3 
> 
> CW: Almost major character death, Vague descriptions of freezing to death

The blizzard is blinding in its intensity. The cold wind eats at Tez’s frozen cheeks, blows through his thin cloak to dig deep into his bones. Tez isn’t sure how long it’s been since he and Nel last saw their parents, isn’t even sure if time has been passing at all since the storm started. His brother’s hand is cold in his own. Every step forward is another agony that burrows between his ribs and squeezes icy fingers into his lungs, and Tez finds it difficult to breathe. The cold seeps deep into the marrow of his bones. 

Whirling snow flits into the hood of his cloak and stings the back of his neck. It has piled up quickly, since the icy flakes had first started falling. Beside him Tez could see Nel struggling to push through the deep snow and he tugged his twin closer when a particularly harsh gust nearly knocked them both to the ground. He hopes his parents are okay, wonders if they’re safe and warm, fretting over their missing children or if they’re just as hopelessly lost and cold. Nel shivers.

The next step forward has Tez stumbling, frozen and tired and nearly bringing Nel down with him. His brother mumbles something in concern but his words are swallowed by the wind and Tez shoves his free hand into the snow to push himself up. He blinks the black spots from his vision. Tears prick at the corner of his eyes and he rubs at them stubbornly. He knows better, he thinks, than to let tears freeze on tender skin. Nel tugs him through the ever deepening snow. 

There are dark shapes peaking through the blinding white. Nel perks up at the sight of them and jerks Tez’s arm. Tez pushes his frozen hand further into his cloak, feels his brother take a harsh breath and together they push through the biting winds to try and reach the dark shapes of trees in the distance. Trees mean cover, and cover means shelter from the icy wind. Tez takes a shuddery breath. The cold seeps into his lungs and his vision grows hazier and suddenly he can’t remember where he is. A harsh gust blows the hood of his cloak off and he doesn’t have the strength to push against it. It sweeps him off his frozen feet and he lands in the snow, curling up in a feeble attempt at trapping what little body heat he has left. The snow bites at his skin and burrows into his clothes. Tez is so very cold and tired. 

Nel drops to his knees beside Tez and shakes his shoulder. Tez thinks his twin is saying something but there is cotton in his head and howling wind screaming in his ear. Something wet drips down onto his cheek, and he has the vague realization that Nel is crying. His brother, for how little he does it, has always been an ugly crier. His cheeks are ruddy and the tears leave dark, frozen tracks down his face and his hiccups are stuttering. Nel buries his head into Tez’s neck and sobs. 

Together, they curl up and push into each other’s frozen cloak. The snow starts piling up around them and Tez isn’t sure how much time passes as they slowly freeze together in the drift. Tez is finding it harder and harder to keep his eyes open but every time they start to flutter his brother is there to shove his face into Tez’s neck and pinch his cheeks. For Nel, Tez fights to keep his eyes open. He doesn’t want to leave his brother here in the frozen snow, alone. 

Time passes. Tez blinks. The next time he opens his eyes, there is a dark shape hovering above him and Nel. It gently touches Tez’s shoulder and shakes him. He can’t find any energy to say anything, but he lets the figure scoop him up into strong arms. Another figure picks his brother up and together they move as a group through the deep snow. Tez curls into the warmth of the person carrying him and drifts into a daze. 

Awareness comes back to him in stages. The first thing he feels is the warm weight of a blanket across his shoulders and the soft breath of his brother next to him. He hears the crackling of a fire and the shuffling of people moving about the room, a page from a book being turned, the smell of something cooking. Tez blinks his eyes open and finds himself face to face with his sleeping twin. He takes a moment to study his brother, but can find nothing immediately wrong with him so he shifts to look around the room. 

It’s small. A bedroom, clearly, and in the next room over he can hear a fire crackling and smell something cooking. Tez and Nel are lying together in a small bed. In a chair at the foot of the bed sits an elf, reading. Thin glasses are perched on the bridge of his nose and he has dark red hair pulled into a high bun. A few strands escape the neat bun to hang around his face. A pendant sits at the base of his throat, made with gold trim and an icy blue gem with a dark blue, six-pointed snowflake that has been set into the metal. He seems entirely absorbed in the book he’s reading until he hears Tez shift, and then he jolts, nearly dropping his book. The elf glances up at the bed and smiles when he sees Tez awake. He puts his book down on a desk in the corner of the room and folds his hands across his lap, watching Tez with a keen gaze. 

After a moment of silence the man opens his mouth and speaks. He says, “How are you feeling, kid?” And Tez takes a moment to take stock of his body. He finds that he feels rather horrible and can’t find much energy to sit up. Tez wets his lips and replies, his voice hoarse, “Tired.” The man nods like he expected that answer. 

“Yes, staying out in a blizzard that long will do that to you. Where are your parents?” He says, and he looks concerned.

“...I don’t know. We got lost once the blizzard started. W-Where, um, where are we?” 

The man cocks his head and taps a finger on his thigh. He hums, “You’re in my temple. Me and my daughter found you two out in the storm and took you home with us.” He pauses, like he’s just remembered something, and twists around in the chair to call out, “Cremine? Is the stew done? One of our guests has woken up!” A girly voice shouts back, “Yes, dad! I’ll bring a bowl in just a moment.” The man nods and turns back to Tez. “Cremine made some stew for you guys, to warm you up and get your strength back. We can look for your parents while you two recover here. We’ll have to wait for the storm to pass, however.” The man stands up and stretches. His back crackles and he grunts, saying, “Let me go grab my wife. Cremine will be along shortly with a bowl of stew. Please eat as much as you can.” And then he turns and leaves Tez alone with Nel, who has still not awoken. 


End file.
